Sam Ling described Leyton Orient’s draw against Stevenage as a “steppingstone in the right direction”.

The stalemate with their Hertfordshire opponents ended a run of two successive defeats for Orient, who were left frustrated at being unable to take all three points from the game.

After losses against Macclesfield Town in the league and Plymouth Argyle in the cup, Ling felt the performance was something the side can now build on in their hunt for a second win of the season.

After the game, Ling said: “I think the boys were good today. We looked strong at the back, strong in the middle and strong up top. I think we were a bit unfortunate not to come away with all three points but we’ve got a point and a clean sheet so we’ll build on it from now.

“I think off the back of the two results we’ve had, we had to come out here and put a performance on, which I think we did bar not scoring the goal. I feel like it’s a steppingstone in the right direction, we can build on it and go again Tuesday.

“The group we’ve got, the staff included, we’ve got that ability to bounce back. We can’t think too negatively, we’ve come up a league, so we know where we want to be and we just have to start getting some consistency and start climbing that league.”

James Brophy put in arguably the performance of the game, constantly causing a threat to the Stevenage defence with his close control and dribbling ability, and Ling was full of praise for his teammate.

He said: “Brophs is one of those players that if you’re on the opposition team you don’t want to come up against him. I think he’s been outstanding. I personally love playing with him because we always seem to be on a similar wavelength, so long may that continue for him and hopefully he can start getting the assists and goals that he so rightfully deserves.”

A similar level of performance will be needed from both Brophy and Ling tomorrow night as the O’s travel to Mansfield Town. Kick-off is at 7.45pm at Field Mill.